PCG Members to Compete for NC Chef Showdown Honors

On August 21, 2017, The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association will be conducting its second annual NC Chef Showdown, a one-night culinary competition.

Out of over forty applicants, sixteen are the finest chefs in North Carolina have been selected to gather in Raleigh to compete for 2017 NC Chef and Pastry Chef of the Year honors – and we’re proud to say, six of them are members of Piedmont Culinary Guild.

The competition is managed and hosted by PCG Member, NC culinary media personality Heidi Billotto.

“This is an exciting project for me,” Billotto begins. “What I love so much about this competition is that is isn’t about who is the most competitive, its about chefs and pastry chefs from across the state who want to showcase their restaurants and businesses as well as share what they do with others in the industry.”

Each competing chef will be paired with a participating food wholesaler who will provide them with whatever product they request. Chefs are also provided with funds courtesy the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, an official NC Chef Showdown sponsor, to bring along and incorporate some of their favorite local ingredients, from farmers and local producers they support at their individual restaurants.

“All competitors will be judged on their best use of NC ingredients as one of the criteria,” Billotto explains. “I love that local farmers and producers will also be represented.”

During the event, chefs will present their dishes to the panel to the judges table in front of the crowd and will have an opportunity to explain their use of local ingredients, the conceptualization of the dish, and tell a little bit about themselves.

In it’s inaugural competition, Chef Jesse Roque of Never Blue Restaurant in Hendersonville took 2016 NCRLA Chef of the Year honors, while PCG Member Jossie Perlmutter of Sweet Affairs in Charlotte earned the title of 2016 NCRLA Pastry Chef of the Year.

Competing for 2017 NCRLA Chef of the Year

PCG Members

Timothy Grandinetti – Chef/Owner – Spring House Restaurant Kitchen & Bar, Winston-Salem and Quanto Basta: Italian Eatery & Wine Bar, Winston-Salem and Bermuda Run
Thomas Marlow – Executive Chef – Mimosa Grill, Charlotte
Phillip Platoni – Chef De Cuisine – Southminster Retirement Community, Charlotte
Adam Reed – Chef/Owner – Sante, Matthews
Alyssa Wilen – Chef/Owner – Alyssa’s Kitchen, Charlotte

Also Competing

Thomas Card – Executive Chef – The Counting House Restaurant 21C Hotel, Durham
Jim Diecchio – Executive Chef – Rocksalt, Charlotte
Matthew Krenz – Executive Chef/Culinary Director – The Asbury at The Dunhill Hotel, Charlotte
Lil Lacassagne – Chef/Owner – Saint Jacques at The Burke Manor Inn, Gibsonville
Scott Ostrander – Executive Chef – The Grand Bohemian Hotel, Asheville
Scott Schabot – Executive Chef – Cameron Bar and Grill, Raleigh
Bud Taylor – Chef/Owner – The Bistro Topsail, Surf City

Competing for 2017 NCRLA Pastry Chef of the Year

PCG Member

Ann Marie Stefaney – Pastry Chef – Heirloom Restaurant, Charlotte

Also Competing

Julius Kalman – Owner/Pastry Chef – Vidalia, Boone
Shelby Smith – Pastry Chef – Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery, Chapel Hill
Hannah Woociker – Pastry Chef – Highland Avenue, Hickory

In addition, there will be a mixologist competition featuring six North Carolina distilleries. Details on those participants will be announced in the next couple of weeks.

Tickets to attend the event can be purchased at the NC Chef Showdown website.